§2669a Diplomatic Telecommunications Service

Summary

The Secretary of State must give enough money each year, starting in fiscal year 1995, to keep the Diplomatic Telecommunications Service (DTS) running at its current level. That money cannot be moved to other uses. All DTS funds must be available directly to the DTS Program Office (DTS–PO). The DTS–PO financial manager must have direct access to the Department of State’s financial system to watch and control how the money is spent. Within 60 days after August 26, 1994, the Secretary and the DTS–PO Director must reshape the DTS Policy Board so it includes the DTS–PO Director, the senior information manager from each current board agency, senior career information managers from the Department of Commerce and the Defense Intelligence Agency, and two other federal agency information managers who serve two-year rotating terms appointed by the Secretary and the DTS–PO Director. The Secretary and the DTS–PO Director must run a DTS consolidation pilot at at least five medium-to-large embassies and finish it before October 1, 1995. Each embassy must get full integrated services (message, data, and voice) at no extra charge, a joint transmission facility with open access to unclassified equipment, an unclassified packet-switch system for all foreign affairs agencies, and the end of separate classified transmission systems (including MERCURY). After the pilot, a report with a cost-benefit analysis for each embassy is due to the House and Senate Appropriations Committees by January 15, 1996. A DTS planning report, due January 15, 1995, must include the pilot plan and funds needed, and a detailed strategy and schedule for network design and security, switching from dedicated and classified circuits to the unclassified packet system, basic voice service, funding for new systems and replacements, combining network centers, and reducing reliance on full-time contractors.